Wall construction



D, V. NELSON Feb. 22, 1938.

WALL CONS TRUCTION Filed Feb. 18, 1957 Patented Feb. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

My invention relates in. general to building construction and has more particular reference to the provision of means for and method of preventing transfer of sound through walls or partitions.

' An important object of the present invention is to provide an improved wall structure particular- 1y adapted for use in partitions or walls whereby relatively large areas in buildings are subdivided to form smaller rooms, the wall structure serving to substantially prevent the transfer of sound through the partition.

Partition walls constructed in previously erected buildings have a tendency to shrink, thereby producing small cracks or interstices between the upper ends of the partition walls and the ceiling of the building in which the same are erected. A considerable volume of sound may be transferred through such small interstices as and when the same develop and it is an important object of the present invention to provide means adapted for incorporation in a partition wall especially at the upper edge thereof whereby to maintain the wall in sound-tight condition regardless of shrinking, .the structure of the present invention being also applicable at the side edges of the wall in order there to accomplish a similar sound excluding function.

Another important object is to provide relative- 1y inexpensive means adapted for assembly in a partition wall and self-adjustable to maintain the wall in soundproof condition regardless of shrinkage.

These and numerous other important objects, advantages, and inherent functions of the invention will become apparent as the same is more fully understood from the following description which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, discloses preferred embodiments of the invention.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a building structure embodying my present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 2--2 in Figure 1, showing the sound excluding device of my present invention in its initial assembled position;

Figure 3 is a similar sectional view showing the relative position of the device after wall shrinkage has occurred; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view illustrating a modified form of the invention.

To illustrate my invention I have shown on the drawing a basic building structure I 1 comprising a floor I3 and a ceiling l5 which may be of any suitable or preferred construction embodying usually a so-called tile arch I1 and means I9 suspended on the arch and forming a ceiling surface.

In such a basic building structure, it is often 5 necessary to subdivide the floor area thereof by means of partition walls 2| which, of course, may be of any desired construction, the walls 2! shown in the drawing comprising hollow tile blocks 23 which are or may be erected on edges shown in order toform the partition Walls. These walls, of course, may be surfaced with layers of plaster or other suitable finishing material 25 and baseboards 2! of any suitable or preferred material may be applied.

Partition walls of the character mentioned, after being built, are susceptible to shrinkage which may produce cracks between the ceiling l5 and the upper edges of the walls. Wall shrinkage may also produce cracks between the side edges of the walls and the surface of abutting walls. Cracks or openings of this character are undesirable, particularly in office buildings, since a considerable volume of noise may be transferred between the adjacent roomsthrough such openings. To overcome this defect, I provide means 29 incorporated in the wall structure at the places where cracks are apt to develop as a result of wall shrinkage. The means 29 comprises an expansible filler embodying preferably feltlike material 3!, the filler means being adapted at all times to maintainclos'ed against sound transfer any opening which may develop due to wall shrinkage.

In the illustrated embodiment, the expansible filler 29 comprises a pair of cooperating channelshaped strips 33 and 35. The strip 33 in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 comprises preferably a sheet metal strip bent to form upstanding, spaced-apart walls 31 and a bottom 39, the central portions 4| of which may form a depressed groove extending longitudinally of the strip for the purpose of strengthening the same against lateral bending.

Offset lugs 43 also may be formed at the upper edges of the wall portions 31. The element 33 may be mounted along the upper edge of a partition wall 2| and secured in place by means of fastening elements 45 which may comprise, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, lengths of wire secured at one end to the offset lugs 43 and at the other to nails or other fastening elements 41 driven into the opposed sides of the wall forming elements 23. The element 35 may comprise a strip of material, the opposite edges of which are flanged as at 49 so that the strip 35 may fit within the element 33 with the flanges 49 abutting the flanges 37. The resilient material 3| comprises a layer adapted to be assembled between the elements 33 and 35 with the opposed edges of the layer 3| extending between the flanged portion 31 and 13 of said elements. The central element 33 also is preferably fitted upon the face and side edges of a mounting strip 5|, preferably comprising a strip of wood although other suitable material may be utilized as a mounting for the element 33. The element 33 and the mounting element 5| are perforated as at 53 to receive a holding stud 55 having a stem insertable through the opening 53 and having an end making threaded engagement with a nut 51 on which is pivotally carried a clip 59. The clip may be rotated on the nut 51 to a position parallel with respect to the stem 55 thereby permitting the clip and the stem to be inserted through an opening 6| formed in the ceiling above the upper edge of the wall 2|. After the stem and clip have been thus assembled on the ceiling, the clip 59 may be drawn to a position extending at right angles with respect to the stem 55 by manipulating the stem through the block 5| from the under side of the ceiling. The block and the element 35 carried thereby may then be snugly secured on the under side of the ceiling by tightening the stem 55 in the nut 51 by means of a screw driver or other turning element applied to the head of the stem 55.

After the parts have been assembled in position as shown in Figure 2 the finishing layers may be applied on the opposite sides of the wall to cover the expansible assembly 29. Should the wall shrink, the parts 33 and may separate as indicated in Figure 3. Such separation, however, Will not disturb the mounted position of the resilient strip 3|, the opposed ends of which will remain in position clamped by and between the flanged portions 31 and 39 of the elements 33 and 35 thereby closing the space between the upper end of the wall and the ceiling at all times by means of the resilient material 3|. The pockets 63 which may develop between the upper edges of the facing layers 25 and the ceiling as a result of wall shrinkage may, of course, be filled with plaster or other filling material in order to overcome the cracked appearance, however, such filling is not at all necessary to prevent sound transfer which is blocked by the material of the resilient layer 3|.

The modified arrangement shown in Figure 4 eliminates the necessity of mounting the element 35 on a block 5|. In the embodiment shown in Figure 4, element 35 has flanged edges 69 and is assembled with the back of the element 35 facing upon the ceiling above the wall 2| with the layer 3| secured by and between the ceiling and the element 35. Opposed edges of the layer 3| are wrapped around the flanges 69 as shown at H and said wrapped flanges are secured in pockets 73 formed in the opposed edges of the element 33. These pockets 13 comprise grooves extending longitudinally of the element 33 which also is formed with flanges 15 at its extreme marginal edges, said flanges being adapted to be embedded in the surfacing layer 25 or to be attached on the wall in a fashion similar to that illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. The expansible elements 33 and 35 and the resilient sound deadening layer 3| function in the embodiment shown in Figure 4 exactly as the corresponding elements shown in the embodiments illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 do.

It is thought that the invention and its numerous attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it is obvious that numerous changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention and without sacrificing its attendant advantages, the forms herein described being preferred embodiments for the purposes of demonstrating the invention.

What I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Sound excluding means adapted for assembly in the opening between a Wall or ceiling and the abutting edge of a partition, comprising a pair of cooperating elements adapted for attachment, one on the facing edge of the partition and the other on said wall or ceiling opposite said facing edge, including a channeled element having spaced, opposing, channel-defining surfaces, and a cooperating element having spaced portions adapted to slidingly interfit with and abut the opposing surfaces of the channeled element whereby to permit relative separational movement between the elements, and a resilient strip of felt-like material wrapped about the said cooperating element and having its opposed edges held each by and between one of said portions of the cooperating element and one of said surfaces of the channeled element.

2. Sound excluding means adapted for assembly in the opening between a wall or ceiling and the facing edge of a partition abutting said wall or ceiling, said means comprising a pair of cooperating sheet-metal elements adapted for attachment, the one along the said facing edge of the partition and the other on said wall or celling opposite said facing edge, one of said sheetmetal elements forming a channel having spaced, opposing wall portions and the other cooperating element having marginal flanges adapted to slidingly interfit with and cooperate with the opposing surfaces of the channel whereby to permit relative separational movement between the elements, and a resilient strip of felt-like material wrapped about the cooperating element and having its opposed edges held each by and between one of said marginal flanges of the cooperating element and one of the surfaces of the channeled element.

3. Sound excluding means adapted for assembly in the opening between a wall or ceiling and the facing edge of a partition abutting said wall or ceiling, said means comprising a pair of 00- operating sheet-metal elements adapted for attachment, the one along the said facing edge of the partition and having marginal portions extending outwardly of and defining Channels substantially at the opposing faces of said partition, the other sheet-metal element being adapted for attachment on the wall or ceiling and having marginal flanges in position to extend in the marginal channels of the partition-mounted element whereby to permit free, relative separational movement between the elements, and a resilient strip of felt-like material having its opposed edges extending about the marginal flanges of said other element, each edge of said strip being compressed and held in one of said channels by a marginal flange of said other element.

DAVID V. NELSON. 

